Rise of the Machines: Books About Tech Taking Over
By Erin Roll
The rise of technology and the idea of machines taking over the world have long been a rich mine of storytelling gold for authors, especially now with the rise of AI. What aspects of life and work are we willing to delegate to machines, and at one point does it become too much?
At the heart of this is the fear of a creation overpowering its creator; what happens when something that is human-made no longer responds to human commands?
Mary Shelley tapped into this fear with FRANKENSTEIN, which could be considered a very early science fiction novel; the monster rebels against Victor, and at the same time exposes the darker side of humanity.
There are the classics like Isaac Asimov’s I, ROBOT, William Gibson’s NEUROMANCER, and Philip K. Dick’s DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP, which was the inspiration for BLADE RUNNER. In the movies, we’ve seen this in Skynet running horribly amok in TERMINATOR, and in the sinister little girl robot in M3GAN.
Hit Ctrl-Alt-READ on some of these other books about sentient tech, both good and evil.
Wilder, just your ordinary 30-something living in Brooklyn, suddenly finds their life turned upside down; they’ve just acquired the ability to understand every language ever spoken, and it’s a bit much. But Wilder soon finds friends and allies in a coven of trans witches, each of them with their own unique abilities. Life seems good, until a sinister AI presence threatens to break the coven apart and throw the world into chaos. Wilder and their fellow witches have to fight back, while wrestling with some very difficult questions: are some forces, be they from technology or from magic, just too dangerous for the world to handle?
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Ardent Violet, pop star and fighter of evil mechas, is looking forward to some much-needed quality time with their jazz musician boyfriend August. But those plans for relaxation go straight out the window when a huge intergalactic coalition of aliens shows up, with their own mechas in tow. Their mission is to defend Earth from the sinister AI presence known as Infinite. But things never go smoothly, and soon Ardent and Gus and their allies are back in the fight to save the galaxy from total chaos.
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In this second installment of the Pandominion series, the end of the world–and the universe–looms amid the backdrop of interplanetary battles. Rupshe–an artificial intelligence–predicts the doom of humanity if war continues. Rupshe is convinced that the universe’s salvation lies in the mysterious force known as the Mother Mass, and sends out a team of five unlikely searchers–human, part-human, and sentient tech–to find it. It will be a dangerous mission for all involved, and the clock is ticking, for the Pandominion’s war machines are ready to launch and are beyond the control of their creators.
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A lot of books about sentient tech tend to be about how AI is a threat to humanity, but what about books where AI is one of the good guys? Turing Hopper–an AI personality with a talent for detective work–senses that something is up when a master criminal’s credit card, which has been inactive for a long time, suddenly racks up thousands of dollars in purchases and sends them to a vacant house. Turing asks her friends–both of the AI and of the human variety–to start staking out the house. But things get dangerous when one of Turing’s human colleagues gets charged with murder. The only way to prove their friend’s innocence is to set a trap for the guilty party. But doing so could result in them all getting the Blue Screen of Death…
Format
Perfect
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It’s not just courts that need jesters and fools; starship crews need them too, to keep everyone entertained and to keep morale up during long and wearying journeys. Evelyn Dobbs is the official fool aboard the starship Pasadena, under the command of Katmer Al Shei. But something is afoot aboard the Pasadena, and it’s not at all funny. The ship’s navigation software is beginning to develop a mind of its own, with all the fears, insecurities, and motives that come with it. And Evelyn soon finds herself in her own fight against this strange and terrifying new presence. If she wins, it could be bad news for Katmer, the Pasadena, and the crew. But if she loses, humanity may be doomed.
Format
Mass Market
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Rhona has dedicated her life–lives, rather–to fighting the artificial intelligence machines that are trying to subdue and control the human race. She is killed during a mission gone wrong–and later she wakes up in a clone of herself: new body, same DNA, same memories…but some of her most important memories are missing, and these memories are what could stop the machines once and for all. Rhona has to adjust to her new life, rebuild her relationships with people she knew in her past life, and contend with new enemies. And she has to do it fast, because the machines are almost at the point of wiping out humanity for good.
Format
Hardcover
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Erin Roll is a freelance writer, editor, and proofreader. Her favorite genres to read are mystery, science fiction, and fantasy, and her TBR pile is likely to be visible on Google Maps. Before becoming an editor, Erin worked as a journalist and photographer, and she has won far too many awards from the New Jersey Press Association. Erin lives at the top floor of a haunted house in Montclair, NJ. She enjoys reading (of course), writing, hiking, kayaking, music, and video games.
